Trap for rodents



Dec. 18, 1951 s. ROESNER TRAP FOR RODENTS Filed Sept. 15, 1947 Patented Dec. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT ;-FFICE TRAPVFOR RODENTS Siegmund-Roesner,Roselle,, Ill. Y Application September 13,-, 1947;.Se12iaLNo. 77am 6 Claims.

, "ijiThis'invention relates; to traps for rodents: and t the .like. v

An important obj ect.;of the z-present invention is to provide an effective trap .thatz'is simple and cheap to construct, and which, after .zcapturing a rodent, is automatically readied to capture additional, rodents-without beingumanually reset nor .re-baited.

:Another object of this invention is to provide ..-a trap whichwill capture, without any special; aadjustment, rodents 'of ia-i-widevariety of sizes 3 .and weights.

.Still .another object of this invention is to ,provide a trap from which the captured and .destroyed rodent maybe removed .and disposed- 'icapture tank; I

' "Fig.2 is a plan view,taken"from the side. of the operating-"portion of the "device, showing; in *clotted *lines the position of the trap when tripped;

"Fig. 3 is "a' plan view of the operating portion -of*'the-device, taken from underneath the tripping platform; and

I Fig: 4*is a-side view of the tripping portion of "the device,-partially--in section, taken along the "lines 6- of"-Fig.-3.

' "The complete'trap of *the invention "includes a three maj or portions; a "runway l 0;-providin .an =avenue of approach to the trap; a'tilting'platform I! to drop the rodent into -a-vat, and a 'tank or v'at M, --to"-holc'l -and kill-"thecaptured -rodent; l-he especial novelty-of the deviceare- -=s'ides in'- the construction of the tilting platform F1 2 and its associated parts and in its-combinationewit-h the runway in and vat- M.

.The runwayffl may be of any suitable ma- :steri'a'l ror 'sizaasince it merely-provides access to :Ithe til tingsplatform 2. However, a plain zpine oboardgzsix @inches :wideaan :inch-:thick,-and flve elfeetain lengthais yery satisfactory.

.iLikeWi-segizhe ttankiorwat l-l may take-a wide variety Q of. ,shapes and sizes. Preferably, .however, it should havefairly smooth rounded sides so thatit does not provide a foothold for a .rodent and it should. be. of. .a depth such that the rodentcannotjumpput of it. Also, it should be of; a depth, so that liquid deep enough to drown the rodent may beplacedtherein. A.half of a standard 55 gallon steeldrum, such as commonly .usedfor containing gasoline, is very satisfactory.

The function of the tilting platform l2 isto hold. outJthei baittoj entice the rodent up the runway [O land thento drop the rodent. into the thick. hasproved very satisfactory.

Atthe outer end ofjthe, platform I2 is mounted anadjustable' bait hook. This is illustrated as apiece of ironrod lfi'approximately 3" long, ihaving a'sharpened point l8 turned up from the rod at ,right'angles thereto. The rod is mounted on'theundersideof the platform l2 by a bracket fastened to the platform by screws, rivets; or

the like. The bracket is mounted tightly over the rod about midway of itslength, so that the -rod' is held in frictional engagement withthe underside of the platform. So mounted, the rod may be moved manuallyforward or backward -relativeto the platform. In use, a piece of bacon or other bait 22 is placed onthe point [8 and the "rod 16 may be moved forward or backward in thebracket 20 until the tilting platformi2--has ---a U-shaped rod 24. This-is connected to the platform-l2 by brackets 26 and 28 suitably secured by screws'or rivets. In order to provide smooth bearingsurfaces and only light frictional -resistance between the rod 24 and the platform l2, two round headed brads" 30 are driven into the'platform' l2 from the undersidethereof,--midway between the screws or rivets of the brackets 26- and"28. "These brads 30-may be-cutofffif necess'aryyso that they will not project beyond the top surface of the platform l2.

The rod 24 should be long enough -to -proiect a substantial distance beyond the runway end-"of the platform l'2,- providing the free ends 32 and-34. These may thenbebent downwardly at a suitable .angle, depend-ing upon the lengthof the-runway I l0,-to-which.they are fastened in any-suitable manner; such as by staples-36.

is mounted on the underside of the platform I2 centrally thereof between the rod 24 and the bait hook I6.

Its forward end 42 i fastened to theplatform l2 by a screw or a rivet Atrthe free V end of the spring 40 is formed a slot 44 about A,

to center the U-shaped rod 24, preventing any substantial lateral movement thereof.

The rats, mice, and other animals thrown into the vat will die quickly by drowning in the waste oil or other liquid used, and present no serious problem of removal and disposition. Their bodies are not mangled, and no scent is left upon the trap. They can be removed from the vat by a rake or dipper and burnedor buried. A basket or other collecting mean within the vat may also be used. In any event, the problem of removing a mangled or still living animal from the trap is completely avoided.

deep. The ends of the spring 40, on either side of the slot 44, are bent outwardly relative to the platform I2 at about an 80 angle. The spring 40 is then bent slightly away from the platform I2 ,se that it is in contact therewith only at its forward end 42.

, The operation of the trap is as follows.

1 The vat I4 i filled with crank case oil to a depth of six or eight inches. The tilting platform I2: is fastened to one end of the runway'lll and the platform I2 is then rested on thetop edge of the vat I4 as shown in Fig. l, the edge of the vat being located about midway between the brackets ,26 and 28, and the upper end of the runway II]. A piece of bait is fastened to the pointed end I8 of r the bait hook I6 and the shank thereof is moved forward or backward in the bracket 20 until the platform I2 is so balanced as to remain in hori-. zontal'position. If desired, grain or other bait qmay be sprinkled on the runway and platform,

although that is not essential.

: A rodent attracted by the bait, will climb the runway and move ontothe platform I0. As it nears the bait 22, the weight of the rodent,

whether the animal be large or small, when it advances beyond the point of the bearings 30, will ,causethe forward end of the platform I2 to drop suddenly downward, tilting about the forward end ,1 of the rod 24. The rat, mouse, orother rodent is thrown oil the platform I2, the steep incline and smooth surface thereof being such that the rodent cannot back up or pull itself back onthe platform.

The rodent is thrown into the waste oil or liquid ;-in the vat I4, and since it cannot jump out, it will drown therein in a short time.

The bait being well forward of the point of balance of the platform I2, the rodent does not reach it or remove it before the rodent is thrown into the vat; hence it is not necessary to re-bait the trap for further use. i

* When the front end of the platform I2 is caused to tilt downwardly, the-peg'38 engages the spring 40, pressing it toward the platform I2. I When, the spring 40 touches the underside of platform I2, the peg 38 acts as a stop, preventing further rotation or tilting-of the platform I 2. At this point, the weight of the rodent having been removed-from the platform, the spring 40 urges the Ca'l While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that numerous variations and modifications thereof may be made without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. I therefore desire, by the following claims, to include within the scope of the invention all such variations and modifications by which substantially the results of my invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

Iclaim:

1. In a trap for rodents and the like, including an approach runway and'a vat, a tripping mechanism comprising a platform rotatably mounted on an axle, means connected to said axle and adapted to rest upon said vat and to be connected to said approach runway, adjustable weight balancing means mounted atone end of said platform, and trap resetting means including a spring and a stop pin cooperatively associated therewith and affixed on said axle ,to oppose said spring during a downward movement of said platform and limiting the rotation of said platform, said spring normally urging said platform into a substantially horizontal position.

2. In a trap for rodents and the like, including an approach runway and a vat, a tripping mechanism comprising a platform, an adjustable bait hook mounted at one end thereof, a U-shaped rod mounted on. the underside of the platform within fixed bearings mounted thereon, affording an axis of rotation for said platform, the free ends of said rod being adapted for attachment to said approach runway and to rest upon the edge of said vat, and trap resetting means including a spring mounted on the underside of said platform and a stop pin attached to said U-shaped rod to compress said spring during the downward tilting of said platform.

3. A trap for rodents and the like, comprising a rodent receiving and retaining vat adapted to be partially filled with liquid, an approach runway, a tilting platform, support means adapted to rest on the edge of said vat and to be connected to said approach runway, said means including an axle, said tilting platform being mounted on said axle, the front end of said platform being so balanced as to turn downwardly when the weight of a rodent moves forwardly on said platform beyond said axle, and trap resetting means including a spring and an abutting stop pin to return the platform substantially to horizontal position after the rodents weight has been removed therefrom.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3, in which said spring is of the strap type and has one end fastened to the underside of said platform, the remainder of said spring being normally tensioned away from contact with said platform, the free end of said spring having a slotted opening therein and being inclined substantially at right angles away from said platform, and said stop pin is adapted during tilting movement of said platform to compress the spring toward said platform, the compression of said spring acting against said stop pin normally urging the platform to return to substantially horizontal position.

5. The combination set forth in claim 3, in which said support means comprises a unitary U-shaped rod.

6. In a trap for rodents and the like, including an approach runway and a vat, a tripping mechanism comprising a tiltable platform, a bait hook mounted at the outer end of said platform, a generally U-shaped rod mounted on the underside of said platform within fixed bearings mounted thereon thereby providing an axis of rotation for said platform, the free ends of said rod being adapted for attachment to the ap- 5 proach runway and to rest upon the edge of the vat, and trap resetting means including a spring mounted on the underside of said platform and means on said U-shaped rod to compress said spring during downward tilting movement of the outer end of said platform and to limit the downward tilting movement.

SIEGMUND ROESNER.

REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 70,134 Trevitt Oct. 22, 1867 1,517,192 Cervenec Nov. 25, 1924 1,520,557 Berg Dec. 23, 1924 1,552,855 Jenkins Sept. 8, 1925 

